Crossword Genius

Flipping leaves covering spades making you anxious (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stressed

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'anxious' is the definition.
(stressed can mean anxious or uneasy)

'flipping leaves covering spades making' is the wordplay.
'flipping' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'leaves' becomes 'deserts' (to desert someone is to leave them).
'covering' indicates putting letters inside.
'spades making' becomes 's' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'deserts' enclosing 's' is 'desserts'.
'desserts' back-to-front is 'STRESSED'.

'you' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for stressed that I've seen before include "anxious" , "Accentuated or strained" , "Drew attention to" , "under force" , "Under pressure/tension" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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